On July 22, 2012, Lisa Daniels’ son was killed in a drug deal that went bad. Darren Easterling was 25 years old, a father of two children. Lisa Daniels came into the StoryCorps booth in the Chicago Cultural Center with her friend Sherri Alllen-Reaves. They talked about her son’s story and how Daniels has worked to redefine Darren’s legacy. 

She begins by describing the night he was shot. Daniels was at home when she got a call from one of Darren’s friends. They knew something was wrong with Darren but didn’t know where was or what happened to him

Daniels recently founded the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Justice in her son’s honor.

StoryCorps’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips.